


Write in Ink (Make it Stay Forever)

by Cynder2013



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Ableism, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben (Disney: Descendants) is doing his best, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Child Abuse, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dissociation, F/M, Family Secrets, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, M/M, Sign Language, Sweet Ben (Disney: Descendants), Tattoos, United States of Auradon (Disney) Actually Isn't Too Bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24188065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynder2013/pseuds/Cynder2013
Summary: What happens when you let children be raised by villains? They learn to survive. Or they die. The Rottens are survivors, but when they're invited to Auradon they get to be more. Mal, daughter of Maleficent. Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen. Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil. Una, daughter of Ursula. They will be evil. They will be great. They will be remembered forever.
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Mal & Carlos de Vil & Original Female Character(s), Gil & Harry Hook & Uma, Harry Hook/Original Female Character(s), Jay/Carlos de Vil
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71





	1. Rotten to the Core

It is quite annoying when important meetings get interrupted by songs. Everyone on the Isle of the Lost felt when the wind blew the exact wrong way to bring Auradon random singing to the Isle, but they shook it off, hoping that it wouldn’t affect them. The barrier surrounding the Isle cut off all magic except for whatever it was that forced songs out of people, probably as extra punishment for everyone there.

“So, anyway,” Harry Hook, son of Captain Hook, said, “Uma wants a meeting.”

Una, the youngest daughter of Ursula, thought for a moment before she shook her marker pen and wrote on Harry's arm, _today at noon under old pier don't be late_

Harry smirked and pushed a curl of white hair escaping from one of her braids behind her ear. “Wouldn't dream of it—”

He was cut off by the music ringing through the air. It sounded like when Diego de Vil rapped on his desk during class with his makeshift drumsticks. Then some unlikely bastard started singing.

“They say I'm trouble, they say I'm bad, they say I'm evil, and that makes me glad.”

Well, Harry and Una both recognized that voice. It was Mal. She was going to be so mad when this song was over. Una could almost hear her yelling now. Maybe she should make that meeting with her sister later so that Mal didn't want to stab Uma any more than usual?

Before Una could change anything she felt a tickle in her throat, the kind that she had only felt once before in her life but remembered very well. The feeling leading to the only time she had ever used her voice wasn't something she could forget. It appeared that this was going to be a group song, or at least a duet.

“Treacherous bastard, cold to the bone. Your worst nightmare, can't take me home,” she sang.

Without any input on her part, Una reached into Harry's jacket and pulled out his pocket watch. She swung it in front of his eyes for a moment while she finished her verse before running off to whatever group performance she was going to be part of. The magic at least allowed her to stow the watch safely in an inside pocket of her vest. Harry would not be happy if she lost it.

There was a verse from Evie next. “So I got some mischief, in my blood. Can you blame me? I never got no love.”

A group song then. Judging by the people who'd been afflicted so far, Una could correctly guess that Carlos de Vil, the last of the Rottens, was next.

“They think I’m callous, a low-life hood. I feel so useless, misunderstood!”

Una took a running leap and pulled herself onto a rooftop. She did a handstand on a length of metal that braced two buildings against each other and swung down to the lower roof of the building between them, catching sight of a familiar head of blue hair in the street below. She slid down the roof and jumped down to the street, landing behind Evie, who despite the magic managed to look back at Una and roll her eyes. Una quickly replied with a simple hand sign, her palm turned towards her, her ring and middle fingers down, and the rest of her fingers up. Since she was allowed to do that she assumed the magic didn’t know that for them it meant “long live evil”, or maybe since it fit with the song the magic didn’t care.

The four of them sang the chorus about how they were wicked and rotten to the core while they knocked people over and pushed them into pails of water. Then they each got a second verse, proving that Auradon really hated them.

They danced through the marketplace. Mal seemed to vent her frustration by spray painting an M on a curtain and then pulling it aside to reveal the man who slept in the bathtub behind it. He let out a little squeak that was drowned out by the next part of the song.

First, Mal sang, “Call me a schemer. Call me a freak. How can you say that? I’m just unique.”

Then, as if to make up for the fact that the sign language she had created to communicate with her gang didn’t include a question mark, Una’s verse was made entirely of questions. “What, me a liar, a no-good brat? Are we not friends? What’s up with that?”

Evie’s verse, “So I’m a misfit. So I’m a flirt. I broke your heart, I made you hurt,” allowed her the opportunity to steal a handful of scarves while the young man she was flirting with was distracted. He was the son of one of the Forty Thieves so they were probably stolen already, but Evie could put them to much better use than anyone else could.

Carlos also managed a good bit of thievery, tossing some of the apples he’d taken over to Una before hitching a ride on a passing cart. She managed to fit all of them into the pouch on the belt around her waist. That would be breakfast for them, and maybe a bit of lunch too.

He sang, “The past is past. Forgive, forget. The truth is, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

During the chorus the magic decided to punish more of the Isle by forcing about a dozen other people into a synchronized dance: Analise Tremaine, Claudine Frollo, a few of the Gastons, and some children of common criminals. After dancing around with a smile on her face like that, even if it was a _wicked_ smile, it was no surprise that Mal scraped the bottom of the barrel of working out her anger by snatching a lollipop from the hand of Harriet Hook’s baby. It wasn’t like she wanted the candy; it had to be carrying a bunch of germs and stuff from whatever Auardon brat had thrown it out. Carlos had once read about something called “vaccines” in one of his magazines and, once he had mostly figured out how they worked, declared candy the vaccines of the Isle.

Finally, the music ended. Everyone who had been forced into the farce immediately turned to run away and pretend that it had never happened—Una was planning on running into Harry so that he could properly steal his watch back before she headed to the hideout—but were stopped by the one sound that struck fear into the heart of even the most hardened criminals on the Isle (though not the evilest villains): the voice of Maleficent.

“Stealing candy, Mal?” the Wicked Fairy drawled.

Una, Carlos and Evie joined the rest of the crowd in slowly backing away and letting Mal deal with her mother.

Mal smirked. “It was from a baby.”

Maleficent chuckled. “There’s my evil little girl. Now give it back to the little brat.”

Mal complied, tossing the lollipop in Harriet Hook’s direction for the practiced swordswoman to catch. Then she and Maleficent walked a little ways while Maleficent’s goblins came up behind Una, Carlos and Evie and growled quietly.

Una sighed and crossed her arms, causing the black trident she had tattooed on her upper left arm to twitch. She imagined that she could feel Harry’s watch ticking away the minutes against her ribs, even though it had probably stopped again. Harry was always forgetting to wind it.

“You four will be going to a different school,” Maleficent finally announced, “in Auradon.”

“What?” Carlos and Evie exclaimed. Una’s eyes widened.

Their second attempt to run away was stopped by the goblins behind them grabbing their arms and refusing to let go. The one holding Una grunted when she struggled enough for one of the fishing hooks sewn into the leather around the bottom of her vest to pierce his flesh but still wouldn’t budge. They weren’t getting out of this one.

“We are not going to school with prissy, pink princesses,” Mal said.

“And perfect princes,” Evie added, sounding more wistful than angry.

“I read that there are dogs in Auradon,” Carlos said. “Dogs are vicious, rabid pack animals and I refuse to be anywhere near them.”

Since her movement of her hands was restricted by the goblin holding her prisoner, Una had to settle for shaking her head and putting a scowl on her face.

“Bring them back to the castle,” Maleficent ordered the goblins.

Mal was immediately grabbed by another goblin and Maleficent led the way while they were marched to Bargain Castle, the home of Mal and Maleficent. Behind them, Una could hear the marketplace going back to its usual chaos. Even the people who paid for the protection of the Rottens weren’t going to risk going against Maleficent to help them escape. Mal’s gang had a lot of power, but still not as much as her mother.

The goblins finally let them go when they were inside Bargain Castle. Una rubbed her aching wrists and scowled. There were already bruises forming around the Rottens tattoo just below her inner elbow. The red marks from the goblin’s fingers were plainly visible on her brown skin and even the black ink of the tattoo’s two mirrored Es barely covered them. Goblins never knew their own strength. She was lucky her bones hadn’t broken. 

The rest of their mothers were waiting for them in Maleficent’s throne room, which was also the kitchen and the laundry room. The Evil Queen was touching up her makeup in one of her many mirrors, Cruella de Vil was talking to the tiny stuffed dog head on her coat, and Ursula was sitting at the table with her legs crossed and her tentacles spread around her like a skirt. The hybrid form was another part of Ursula’s punishment. It was a “gift” from King Triton that allowed her to live in water and on land—and caused her pain every day. The bottle of alcohol in her hand (rum, from the smell of it) was half empty and it wasn’t even eleven yet, which told Una that the pain was at its worst today. If she had any choice she would be far away from her mother. Instead she stood next to Evie at a bit of an angle so she could watch her mother out of the corner of her eye while Maleficent gave them orders from her throne (also known as a ratty armchair that only had one stitched up tear in the upholstery).

“You will go to Auradon, find the Fairy Godmother and steal her wand,” Maleficent said while she filed her nails into sharp points.

 _“Why?”_ Una signed, holding her hands out so that Mal, Evie and Carlos could all see.

“Exactly!” Maleficent said with a wink. “Easy peasy.”

Maleficent didn’t know Una’s sign language, which was a small part Auradon Sign Language (ASL) taken from one of Carlos’s magazines but mostly created by her. No one outside of their gang did. Mal translated Una’s question with one of her own. “What’s in it for us?”

“Matching thrones? Her’s and her’s crowns?” Maleficent flashed a smile at her daughter.

“I think she meant _us_ ,” Carlos said, gesturing at the rest of them.

Maleficent stood and leaned on the railing that surrounded her throne’s little space by the one mostly clean window. “Don’t you like watching innocent people suffer?”

“Well, yeah,” Mal replied. “Who doesn’t?”

Una nodded, trying really hard to look like she thought more about causing suffering than surviving each day as it came. They might have more time for being evil if they weren’t worrying about what they were going to eat every day.

Maleficent was just talking to Mal now. “Then get me the magic wand. You and I will get to see that and more when I use it and my staff to bend good and evil to my will!”

“ _Our_ will,” the Evil Queen said. Una saw that she even looked away from her mirror to make the point.

“Our will, our will,” Maleficent said dismissively. “First, I will break the barrier trapping us here and then we will conquer the world. Just you and me, baby!”

“And us,” Ursula grumbled. She took a swing from her bottle and cut through the air with the carving knife from her restaurant that she held in her other hand. “Triton will die in agony.”

Mal looked around to gauge Evie, Carlos and Una’s reactions. There were wary looks all around.

“And if you don’t you’re all grounded for the rest of your life, missy,” Maleficent said with a smirk.

“What?” Mal exclaimed. “Mom!” She wasn’t a kid, she was a gang leader, but Maleficent was still able to ground her plus the rest of her gang. Una thought that perfectly showed how screwed up the Isle was.

Mal got tangled in a staring contest with her mother that had both of their eyes glowing green with a sliver of dragon magic. Mal looked away first.

“Whatever,” she said. She tried to sound like she didn’t care, but Una knew her too well to believe that. Mal was mad that she had lost.

Maleficent caught Mal by the arm and dragged her over to the broken refrigerator. While she was struggling to get the freezer open, Cruella and the Evil Queen called their own children over to them. Una stood alone by Maleficent’s throne until her mother started glaring at her.

“Lazy girl,” Ursula slurred. “Get me Triton’s trident in Auradon. Prove to me I don’t have three useless daughters.”

Una meekly held up two fingers. She and Uma did have another sister, but she wasn’t raised as Ursula’s daughter. As far as all the other villains except their fathers knew, Uma and Una were Ursula’s only children. 

“Two useless daughters,” Ursula corrected. “Useless your sister, with her ship and her playing pirates.” Ursula gestured with her sharp, shiny carving knife. Una wished that her mother wasn’t so paranoid about that knife being stolen. Things would be so much safer if she didn’t insist on carrying it with her whenever she left the quote unquote fish and chips shop (they didn’t have enough fish and chips on a regular basis to justify calling it that).

“Useless,” Ursula snarled again. As if in response to Una’s thoughts, she slashed at her daughter with her knife. Una jumped back and just missed getting her cheek sliced open with the length of the blade. Instead, the knife cut deep into her right bicep just below where the sleeve of her t-shirt ended. Blood ran down her arm.

Una didn’t cry out—she couldn’t—but Mal noticed her injury almost immediately. “We’re going to go pack,” Mal announced. “Come on guys.”

Ursula slashed at her again, but Una dodged and ran out of the room after Mal, leaving Ursula muttering behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone panics, Jay shows up in chapter five.


	2. Ink: Bloodlines

On the Isle of the Lost there is no family. There are

adults and kids

gangs and crews

allies and enemies

criminals and villains

but no families. Mal has a Wicked Fairy who wants her to be just like her. They are both

Maleficent

never mother and daughter. Evie has an

Evil Queen 

who primps and fusses over her skin and hair and eyes and lips. They are joined by their beauty and

nothing else. Carlos has a fashion icon who uses him as her slave.

Cruella de Vil

only cares about her furs

never her son. Una has a Sea Witch who drinks and hits and cuts and burns. They are in pain together and

Ursula

has no daughters or son and never gives love

only blood.


	3. Never Got No Love

Blood continued running down Una’s arm. Their group had split up after they left Bargain Castle. Mal and Carlos were headed to Hell Hall to collect the few things that Carlos left at his mother’s home before joining Evie and Una at the hideout. The Evil Queen had already packed bags full of clothes and makeup for Evie, so Evie only had to worry about the prized possessions she kept at the hideout. Una had moved out of her mother’s house a long time ago.

Una let her blood drip to the ground in favour of carrying one of her knives in her left hand. Sometimes it landed on her clothes but blood wasn’t too hard to get out of denim or leather when you knew Evie. Better a little blood loss than getting more injuries because some idiot thought that she and Evie couldn’t defend themselves.

There was a flash of red next to them as they turned the corner just before the hideout’s stairs. Una turned her head slightly and saw Harry lurking by a broken barrel filled with green potatoes. She signaled Evie with her sign for Harry’s name—the ASL sign for H over her heart, done backwards for ease in this case—and kept walking. She was willing to bet that Harry had been following them since the marketplace, where there was a big crowd to hide in. If he wanted to talk he would wait until they left the hideout. Gang members didn’t go into any home base that wasn’t their own, even if they were invited. They had a code that covered these things, unspoken and unwritten, but a code none the less.

Evie threw a rock at the falling rocks sign to set off the complicated chain of gears and pulleys that Carlos had built to open the gate that protected the hideout. The gate could be locked from inside so that the only way into the hideout was the rickety ladder that had to be climbed one person at a time and led to the top of the building, not directly inside.

As soon as they were inside the hideout, Evie ran to the workroom (which she shared with Carlos, much to her annoyance) and emerged with her sewing kit. At her instruction, Una obediently sat down on Carlos’s bed (which was just a mattress on the floor covered with sheets that Evie had sewn out of someone’s torn curtains) and pulled back her sleeve so that Evie could get to her wound without even that tiny bit of fabric in the way.

Evie wiped away the blood with an alcohol-soaked cloth and clicked her tongue. “She sure got you good. This definitely needs stitches.” 

Una nodded. While Evie lit the stub of a candle and passed her sewing needle through the flame several times, Una went through her sewing kit until she found the piece of thick leather pitted with tooth marks that she always bit down on when Evie had to stitch her up. Carlos did the same. Mal and Evie both preferred alcohol when it came to getting stitches or having a bone set, but they didn’t get injured as often as Una and Carlos. They could have used some of the marijuana that Carlos grew, but it was supposed to be for selling and Carlos couldn’t grow enough that there was some left for them to smoke.

“Ready?” Evie asked. In response, Una put the piece of leather between her teeth.

It took twenty stitches to close the cut. Evie bent over her work and made each stitch tiny and perfect while Una bit down hard on the leather and tried not to move too much. Mal and Carlos got to the hideout before it was done and quietly worked around the two girls so that Evie wasn’t distracted, even though distracting Evie when she was sewing was practically impossible.

Once Evie had tied off the last stitch and smeared one of her green healing pastes on the entire cut, Mal looked up from packing her backpack and said, “Harry Hook is lurking outside. Get rid of him, Una.”

Una gave Mal a salute to indicate that she would be following her orders as soon as Evie finished wrapping her arm with a black scarf (and of course it had to be black to match Una’s boots, t-shirt and painted jeans; even bandaging had to be fashionable with Evie). On her way out, Una passed around the mealy apples that Carlos had stolen. She was gnawing on the core of her’s by the time she got to the bottom of the stairs.

Una walked over to the wall that Harry was leaning against and finished eating her apple core in three bites before he could try to steal any of it.

“You are a cruel woman,” Harry said. “I suppose I should tell Uma there won’t be any meeting?”

Una crossed her arms, ignoring the pulling of her stitches, and raised her eyebrows. Harry gave a lopsided grin. “Well, everyone heard Maleficent’s little announcement and when has Mal ever gone against her mum? You’re gonna raise hell in Auradon.”

Una shrugged. Yeah, the Rottens would raise some hell. It was inevitable with Mal in charge. The half faery loved causing trouble for anyone who wasn’t in her gang. With the magic available in Auradon she might even get enough power for her evil to mark her as a Wicked Fairy. And now that Una thought about it, _she_ would have access to magic too. She wouldn’t be able to use the book of spells that Maleficent had given her daughter or the magic mirror that Evie had gotten from her mother, but maybe, just maybe, she could do something that allowed her to call herself a Sea Witch.

Maybe she could prove that she wasn’t useless.

Harry put one arm against the wall and leaned closer to Una. “You come back and get us all out of here, you hear me? Uma’s not going to be happy if the four of you get to have all the fun.”

Una rolled her eyes. That was an understatement. Uma was very creative about revenge when she thought she or her crew had been slighted. She had two rows of knives tattooed on her sword arm and the person that each knife represented had only died after she was good and done torturing them in various physical and/or emotional ways. Una had heard every story while she was giving her sister the tattoos. 

Una felt Harry’s hand go inside her vest to the pocket where his watch was. He stayed like that for a moment as if to make perfectly sure that she had caught him before removing his hand without taking the watch.

“I’ll see you around.” Harry turned and disappeared in the direction of the docks. Una stared after him with her shock masked by a practiced neutral expression. Harry should have taken his watch back even if his pickpocketing was sloppy, but he didn’t. He trusted her to carry it with her to Auradon and back to the Isle, back to him.

Una walked back up to the hideout in something of a daze. If someone had attacked her she would have been as quick to the draw as ever but otherwise she was lost in her own thoughts. When Mal asked her if Harry was gone she nodded once without any expression and went to pack her patched canvas backpack without even looking at anyone else. Her dark red, pirate-style jacket went into her bag after her second pair of underwear, followed by her paperback copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ that was missing its cover and the entire fourth act. Half of the pens, markers, and pencils that she horded went on top wrapped in a torn page of a newspaper (for a grand total of four writing instruments). All her tattooing supplies—pens that didn’t write and the wind-up tattoo machine that Carlos had built for her—went into the pouch on her belt. And that was her packing done. She thought about leaving her knives behind but walking around the Isle without a weapon even for a few minutes would be beyond stupid. They were hidden under her vest anyway, so the prissy “good guys” in Auradon wouldn’t see anything to complain about.

“Everyone is done packing,” Mal said. It wasn’t a question.

Carlos came running out of the workroom with a handful of objects that he quickly threw into the black garbage bag serving as his luggage. “I was just making sure that the plants would get watered,” he said as his excuse when Mal turned her mildest glare on him. “Pretty sure we can’t bring a whole marijuana plant to Auradon.”

Mal rolled her eyes. “Are we following Auradon rules now?”

“Also it’s too big to move,” Carlos said quickly.

“Whatever,” Mal said. “Let’s go. Cause some havoc so we’ll be late enough.”

The other three fell into line behind the daughter of Maleficent and the entire island held its breath until they were gone.


	4. Ink: Stitches

Evie and Una sew.

Evie stitches thread into fabric

holding together dresses and jackets and pieces of pants that are falling apart.

Una stitches ink into skin

holding together enemies and allies and grips on reality that are falling apart.

Evie stitches fabric and flesh

holding in blood and bone and wrapping it in new clothes to keep warm.

Una stitches skin and sorrow

holding out pain and death and showing the world the marks it leaves.

Evie and Una sew.


	5. The Kid Next Door

The drive to Auradon Prep made Una’s stomach churn. The driver was, as Mal had said, evil and took every turn going at least twice the speed he was supposed to. That didn’t stop Carlos from eating a third of the candy in the back of the limo. Mal, Evie and Una only ate a few pieces each but split the rest of it up between the three of them for later. Food was food, even if it was full of sugar that would give them acne (which was Evie’s worry, not anyone else’s), and this candy was fresh, no germs.

The havoc of the drive wasn’t the only reason Una felt off. The second they’d crossed the barrier around the Isle, magic had flooded through her and didn’t show any sign of stopping. Evie had gasped and Mal shivered for a split second; they felt the magic too. It bubbled inside them like a pot ready to boil over. The three of them had shared a look and Una made a quick sign that meant they’d talk later when they could be sure they were alone. Carlos didn’t seem to notice any change, which was to be expected since his family wasn’t into magic at all.

The limo pulled to a stop on front of a stone castle that looked so much newer than any of the castles on the Isle. Carlos stopped stuffing his face and looked out the window with wide eyes.

“Is that the school?” Carlos asked.

“I guess we’d better go see,” Mal said. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and climbed out of the limo. Una, Carlos and Evie followed her in the usual order, with Evie right after Mal and Una at the end of the line protecting their backs.

A group of people was waiting for them right outside the limo. Una sized them up in a second. The older woman was obviously the Fairy Godmother. Her magic was the only threat. The prissy pink princess on the arm of one of the two boys wasn’t something worth worrying about at all and the boy she was with wasn’t much better. The last boy though, he was something else, or rather, something Isle. If he knew how to use those muscles then it looked like he could go toe-to-toe with Harry without getting killed. His dark hair was tied back into a ponytail, out of his eyes and harder to rip out of his head in a fight, and the jacket he was wearing looked like it had room for a few weapons, though this being Auradon he probably wasn’t carrying any. The marching band slightly behind the group of four could probably use their instruments as weapons if they managed not to trip over them or the ridiculous uniforms they were wearing. Una would keep an eye on them and the almost-Isle boy.

Fairy Godmother introduced herself and started talking about curfews. She was smiling so widely that Una was tempted to back away and daw her knives. The only people who smiled like that on the Isle were quick to lash out with whatever makeshift weapon they had available and didn’t stop even when they got injured. Una had a mottled scar over her ribs from where one of them had hit her with a broken metal lamp. She been meeting Harry at the time and neither of them knew if it was her knife or his hook that had finished her attacker off, so she’d added a knife tattoo to each of their arms.

“You know, I’ve always wondered what it was like when you just appeared to Cinderella like that,” Mal said, forcing a smile on her face, “with that sparkling wand.”

“And those shoes,” Evie added. “Glass slippers are iconic now!”

“And that wand,” Mal repeated.

Una thought Mal was laying it on a little thick, but Fairy Godmother looked thrilled. “Oh, well, that’s the past you know. Don’t focus on yesterday or you’ll miss today, that’s what I always say!”

The boy without a princess on his arm gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like a smothered laugh. Fairy Godmother either didn’t notice or ignored him as she said that the three teenagers not in the marching band would handle things from there. She made a joke about doors and curfews before walking towards the school with the marching band trailing after her.

“I’m Ben,” the other boy said as Fairy Godmother and the band were leaving. He then used his free hand to sign letters, slowly spelling out his name.

“Prince Ben,” the princess interrupted, “son of Belle and the Beast. Soon to be King Ben.”

Ben cleared his throat. “Yeah, and this is my girlfriend, _Princess_ Audrey.” He made a strange movement, pointing backwards with his thumb and tapping his pointer fingers together, before spelling Audrey’s name.

Audrey smiled widely, reminding Una uncomfortably of Dr. Facilier when he was about to make a deal, and held onto Ben’s arm so tightly that it looked like Ben’s fingers might be turning blue. “My mom is Sleeping Beauty.”

“Uh oh,” Carlos murmured. Una took one look at the brittle smile on Mal’s face and mentally agreed.

The almost-Isle boy stepped forward. “I’m Jay, this idiot’s only friend.” He elbowed Ben with a grin as he slowly spelled out his name followed by more strange hand gestures.

Audrey glared at Jay. “Ben has lots of friends, don’t you, Bennyboo?”

Bennyboo? Ick.

Jay rolled his eyes. “It’s a joke, Audrey. Chill.” He turned back to Mal, Evie, Carlos and Una. “I’m also captain of the Tourney team and my baby brother is the Swords and Shields captain so if you want to talk sports I’m your guy. Oh, and my parents are Jasmine and Aladdin.”

He added his parents’ names as an afterthought, which seemed to indicate that not everyone in Auradon introduced themselves by who their parents were. It took him a long time to get through two sentences because he was making hand gestures every few words.

“Mal, Evie, Carlos, Una,” Mal said, pointing to each of them. “What’s with all this?” She made meaningless gestures with her hands.

Ben looked confused. “It’s sign language, for Una.”

Mal scoffed and crossed her arms. “She can’t understand any of that except the letters. And she can hear you.”

Una gave the Auradon boys a wave that was small enough to not pull on her stitches.

Ben’s face fell. “Oh, I thought...Sorry.”

Una shrugged and responded with her own sign language. “You tried,” Carlos translated.

That seemed to make the prince feel better, because he then jumped into a speech about righting the wrongs between their people as he shook each of their hands. Jay smirked and spelled out a few words behind his friend’s back that made the Isle kids snicker. Ben was definitely being over the top.

“Hey, you’re Maleficent’s daughter, right?” Audrey smiled at Mal. “You know I totally don’t blame you for your mom trying to kill my mom.”

“And I don’t blame you for your grandparents inviting everyone but my mother to their stupid christening.” Mal gave Audrey the close-lipped smile that promised blood. “That’s totally the past.”

“Totes!” Audrey giggled. Una had the sudden urge to punch her in the face and break her perfect little nose. She held back, but only because Mal hadn’t ordered it.

Ben started their tour of the school by turning the statue of his dad in front of the castle from a man to a beast. He clapped his hands, the statue changed, and Carlos yelped and leapt backwards into Una’s arms. She hissed and dropped him. The sound of at least one of her stitches popping was loud to her ears. She felt fresh blood on her skin for a brief second before it was absorbed by the scarf.

“You guys okay?” Jay asked.

Carlos got to his feet and Una nodded. Carlos had had much worse scares and much worse falls. Una had carried him before and Evie would only take a few minutes to fix her stitches. They were fine.

Una scanned their surroundings as Ben continued the tour. There was a swath of trees a few seconds away that could provide cover. When they got into the school they entered a hallway with several levels of railing-enclosed balconies above them that someone could drop down on them from. A boy with glasses came down the staircase to their left to meet them. Ben introduced him as Doug.

“He should have your schedules.” Ben looked at Doug, who nodded and fumbled with the papers he was carrying. “We, _I_ really want you guys to feel welcome here. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to –”

“Ask Doug!” Audrey said. Ben’s eyes widened and he started to say something but Audrey dragged him away before he could get a word out. 

“Yeah, Audrey’s great.” Jay’s sarcasm got Doug’s attention.

“She’s not that bad,” Doug said. “She’s just...”

“Really against the whole bringing kids over from the Isle of the Lost thing.” Jay looked around at the Rottens. “You guys can ask me or Doug if you need anything. If you want to talk to Ben it might be better to wait until Audrey isn’t around.”

Mal nodded. “Yeah, we got that.”

Doug adjusted his glasses and went back to his papers. “So, here are your schedules. I put in the requirements already. History with Pirates, Safety Rules for the Inter—Heigh ho...” He trailed off as he was handing Evie her schedule. She smiled at him and his cheeks turned pink.

“Evie. Evil Queen’s daughter,” Evie said in her silky smooth you’ll-do-anything-for-me voice. She looked Doug right in the eye.

Doug stammered unintelligibly for a moment before saying, “Doug. Dopey’s son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy and...and...” 

After a few seconds of Doug trying to spit out the name of his sixth uncle, Jay cleared his throat. “Classes, Doug?”

“Right!” Doug handed Carlos and Una the last two schedules. “History with Pirates, Safety Rules for the Internet and...Remedial Goodness 101.”

Mal raised an eyebrow. “I’m guessing that’s a new class?”

Doug pushed his glasses closer to his face. “Uh, yeah. You guys get to choose your math, science, English and elective classes though! I recommend instrumental music. It can never hurt to know how to play an instrument around here.” He muttered the last sentence, but they were all still able to hear him.

“Stupid singing magic?” Mal asked.

Doug and Jay both nodded. “You guys get it too?” Jay asked.

“Yup.” Mal turned to her gang. “Let’s go find our rooms, guys.”

“That would be this way.” Jay went to the staircase that Doug hadn’t used to get to them. “Right, Doug?”

Doug nodded and started up the stairs. “Just follow me.”

While Doug was talking about how the dorms were organized (boys on one floor and girls on the next, alternating for six floors), Jay fell into step with Una at the end of the line. “Cool tattoos.”

Una inclined her head to acknowledge that Jay had spoken. Along with her trident and Rottens gang marking, the shark outline on her outer forearm, the daisy on her inner wrist and the three vertical lines just above her inner elbow were all visible, as well as the four knives on her other forearm. She had the most tattoos out of the four of them, though the dragon on Mal’s back and shoulder was the most impressive.

“You should figure out how to hide them before Fairy Godmother realizes they’re real,” Jay continued. “School rules, you know?”

Una nodded. They wouldn’t be following the rules long enough for it to matter, but she appreciated the warning. Jay didn’t seem all that good for a prince. Maybe when they took over Auradon they could keep him. It could be fun to see him be really bad. 


	6. Ink: Pain

It’s your turn to hurt them

cut break burn bleed

You want them to fall

hit stab slice scream

They hurt you—when?

twist claw curse cry

You don’t care at all

They’re under your knife

bludgeon draw dive drown

You put them through a trial

fight evade engage end

You’ve taken their life

rip bleed burn break

A hurt that is final

But it doesn’t matter what you might do

You can’t hurt them more than the Beast has all of you


	7. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mal was usually good at getting her way (the only exceptions being when she was faced with her mother or Uma) so it came as no surprise to Evie and Una that she’d just told Doug and Jay that the three girls would be sharing the room earmarked for Mal and Evie, leaving no room for the Auradon boys to argue. If she’d tried to get them to let Carlos stay with them too they probably would have agreed. Una wasn’t happy that Carlos wouldn’t be in the same room as them, but she didn’t argue with Mal.

Mal closed the door in Doug and Jay’s faces, leaving Carlos and Una outside with them, which split the Rottens in their usual way. The two Auradon boys looked at each other with wide eyes.

“So,” Carlos said. “Where do I sleep?”

Jay shook off what Una assumed was shock. “Right this way, roomie.”

Una covered Carlos’s back as they followed Jay and Doug. The other boys didn’t seem to notice that she was there, which would get them killed on the Isle but it was working out for her and Carlos so whatever. They went through a set of doors that Doug said would be locked after curfew—couldn’t have boys and girls getting together at night, not easily anyway—and up a set of stairs to a hallway that was an exact replica of the one they had just left.

Jay opened a door on their left. “This is our place. You get that bed.”

Carlos’s eyes went wide as he saw whatever was in the room. “I get a bed? A real bed?”

Jay looked at Doug with confusion. “Yeah, everyone gets a bed.”

“Whoa,” Carlos said. “Really?”

Una was kind of with him on that one. Everyone got a bed to themselves? Was that just at Auradon Prep or did everyone in the kingdom get their own bed? That would be a lot of beds. The number of real beds on the Isle could be counted on two hands. They must share beds during winter though, right? Or did they have enough blankets for everyone to keep warm alone?

Carlos took a step forward, then stopped. “Do the doors lock?”

“Yeah.” Jay nodded.

Doug adjusted his glasses. “Facilities Maintenance has copies of all the keys, but they aren’t allowed to go inside without just cause.”

Just cause. Putting someone in their place would be more than enough reason to break down a door on the Isle. Picking a lock was justified if it meant you could steal something without getting caught. What did they consider just cause in Auradon?

Jay broke the silence. “So, how about you drop your stuff off here and we’ll give you the grand tour?”

Carlos tightened his grip on his bag. Locked door or not, he wasn’t likely to leave behind the only things he owned. Una tapped on Jay’s shoulder and, once he and Doug got over their surprise at seeing her, spelled that out for the Auradon boys. Luckily, Doug seemed to know the ASL alphabet.

“Oh,” Jay said. “Okay, man. You do whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Carlos let out a sigh of relief. “Okay.” He looked at Una. “Tour?”

Una nodded. They needed to get the lay of the land.

* * *

The biggest thing that Una took away from the grand tour was totally useless. She couldn’t get over how clean everything was. The school, the grounds, all of it was perfectly spotless. No dust, no grime, no blood. It was so weird. Did they have people who went around cleaning up other peoples’ messes? According to Doug they did.

Una collapsed onto Evie’s bed with the map of Auradon Prep that Jay had given her and started marking it up with the pencil she’d found on a table during the tour. Carlos was sitting at the desk in their room, using the computer the girls had been given to search for the Museum of Cultural History, which was where Evie’s magic mirror shard said the wand was. He’d had to disable some sort of tracker first, which was sort of expected. Of course the “good guys” would want to know what they were doing.

“Okay, the museum is two and a half miles from here,” Carlos said. “Do we have a plan?” He, Una and Evie all looked at Mal. Gang leader got first dibs on planning.

Mal closed her spell book, holding her page with one finger. She tapped on the cover of the book with her other hand. “How long to get to the museum, C?”

Carlos looked at the computer screen. “About an hour, by foot, but it’s closer to the Isle than we are now.”

“Any shortcuts?” Mal asked.

Una went over to the desk and she and Carlos compared the map of Auradon Prep to the map on the computer with directions to the museum. Mal tapped her fingers impatiently.

“If we go through the forest here we can cut it down to half an hour,” Carlos said, tracing the path on the computer screen. “But if we don’t know where we’re going we’ll probably break our necks.”

It was a given that they’d be stealing the wand at night, when people were sleeping and they wouldn’t be missed. The thing about that was, like Carlos said, if they didn’t know where they were going beforehand they could easily take a fall that would leave them as fish food. Mal was the only one who could see in the dark.

“We’ll take a day,” Mal decided. “We’ll practice our route tomorrow in pairs so the ‘heroes’ don’t notice us all disappearing at the same time. Then we get the wand,” she looked at Una, “and the trident, bring down the barrier, and show Auradon just how evil we are.”

* * *

Mal and Evie went to go show their faces after a half hour spent refining their plan, taking Carlos’s unaltered copy of the map of Auradon Prep with them. Carlos spent a few more minutes on the computer before turning to Una. “Are you busy?”

_“No,”_ Una signed. She was lying on her back on Evie’s very soft bed staring up at the very pink canopy and trying not to fall asleep. She couldn’t be less busy if she tried.

Carlos reached into his bag and took out three small boxes, each about the size of his palm. “I got these for you. They’ve got a whole bunch in the art room, I don’t know if you saw. I read the ingredients list and it looks safe.”

Una took one of the boxes and turned it over in her hands. The label said that it was black India ink. She opened the box and took out a full bottle of ink that fit neatly in her palm. The bottle had a stopper with a squeeze bulb attached, like the one Evie used to apply her eye drops.

Una put the bottle back in the box and smiled at Carlos. _“I remember this.”_ That was as close as they got on the Isle to saying “thank you”, though telling someone that you’d remember what they did could also be a threat.

“I have ulterior motives,” Carlos admitted. “I need another knife.”

Una raised an eyebrow.

“This guy wouldn’t stop harassing Dizzy and Celia,” Carlos said. “He ran into my knife. Five times. You’d have done the same.”

Una nodded. They all liked Dizzy, and Celia was her sisters’ sister. And, of course, both girls lived in their territory and weren’t part of any rival gang (Dizzy could still survive as a free agent, for now, and the Faciliers were a gang unto themselves with neutrality agreements with all the others). That made them the Rottens’ responsibility.

“Okay, so...?” Carlos raised his eyebrows. Una motioned for him to roll up his sleeve and went into her own bag to get her tattoo machine.

Carlos had one triangle-bladed knife inked on his right forearm, the same one that all four of them had, even Evie. Una added his second knife above the first, using the ink he’d stolen for her and letting the chattering sound of the machine narrow her world to needle, ink and skin for just a little while


	8. Ink: Small Magic

They say there is no magic on the Isle of the Lost.

They don’t see how Carlos de Vil can build any machine from scraps and fix any electronic that passes through his hands.

They don’t see how Uma Ursulasdatter controls people with a siren’s song and a crew honed sharp as a knife.

They don’t see how Freddie and Celia Facilier mix potions and medicines from ingredients they beg, gather and steal to hurt and to heal in equal measure.

They don’t see how Dizzy Tremaine can make even the hardest-hearted villains smile, and the ones who don’t never die at her hand.

They don’t see how desperate children come together to survive and end up with so much more.

They say there is no magic on the Isle of the Lost, but

they would call these things magic, if they bothered to look.

They’re stupid like that.


	9. The Baddest of Them All

The next day did not go as planned. All four of them slept in the girls’ room with excuses prepared, Mal and Evie huddled together on Mal’s bed and Carlos and Una on Evie’s, but they woke up just before sunrise without being interrupted during the night. Evie spent about two hours in the bathroom—they had their own bathroom with running water!—and that was okay because Mal, Carlos and Una all used the bathroom before her. While they were waiting, Mal found a spell to hide their tattoos and cast it on each of them. Una spent a good five minutes studying her bare arms and was still slightly confused every time she saw they were unmarked. Mal’s spell even hid all their scars, though it didn’t do anything for the stitches still in Una’s arm and the slight redness from Carlos’s new tattoo.

There was a knock on the door when Evie was in the middle of trying to convince Mal and Una to let her do their makeup. Una was quicker than Mal to jump on the chance to escape. She opened the door with one hand on the knife in her vest. When she saw Jay on the other side she let go of her weapon and gave a little wave.

“Hey,” Jay said. “Can I come in?”

Una nodded. There were four of them and one of him. They could take him if they needed to.

Mal had broken down and was sitting at the desk while Evie did her makeup. It wasn’t actually a big sacrifice on Mal’s part. She would never admit it out loud, but she liked having Evie fawning over her. It distracted Evie from stressing out about her (non-existent) physical flaws and it made Mal feel like she could take over the world. 

“Jay,” Mal said. “What are you doing here?”

Jay shrugged. “Carlos and I are just offering to walk his friends to breakfast.”

Carlos looked up from the laptop he was balancing on his knees as he sat on Evie’s unmade bed. “We get breakfast?”

Una had widened her eyes at that too—they’d gotten dinner the night before, why would they just be given more food?—but she was more focused on how Jay seemed to be covering for Carlos sleeping in their room. What was that about?

“Yeah, we all get breakfast,” Jay said. He looked towards Mal and Evie. “Are you guys ready to leave?”

Evie gave Mal’s cheeks a light dusting of pink powder. “All done.” She narrowed her eyes at Una. “Now you.”

Una tried to escape but got distracted by Jay and Carlos laughing at her. She managed to confine Evie’s face painting to eyeliner by the simple process of taking everything else she picked up out of her hands and glaring at her.

“Okay, fine,” Evie said. “We can leave now.”

They followed Jay down to the cafeteria, though they could have gotten there on their own without getting turned around. Other students stopped and stared. A few girls shrieked and ran away.

“Nice welcoming committee,” Mal said after a redheaded princess had nearly tripped over her own feet trying to get away from them.

“A lot of people aren’t exactly happy about Ben’s proclamation,” Jay said. “They think you’re going to be just like your parents.”

Mal scoffed. “And all of them are just like Mommy and Daddy?”

Jay smirked. “Well, some of them are like Mommy and Mommy. Aileen’s cool. I’ll introduce you.”

There was so much food at breakfast. Cereal, fresh bread, lots of different types of jam that weren’t filled with mold or sugar crystals, soft yellow things and spherical white things that were both apparently eggs, milk that wasn’t sour, and lots of fruit that wasn’t pulpy or rotting. It was all just there and they didn’t have to fight anyone for it. Mal, Evie, Carlos and Una filled their plates with some of everything. Una slipped some of the fruit into her pockets.

Jay did introduce them to Aileen, the daughter of Ariel’s sister Alana and Lady Knight Guinevere of Camelot, as well as his brother Aziz and Li Lanlei.

“Everyone calls me Lonnie,” Lanlei said.

“And you hate it,” Aziz said around a bite of toasted bread.

Lanlei shrugged. “There are more important things to worry about, and no one can pronounce—”

“Lanlei,” Jay, Aziz and Aileen said. Each of them pronounced her name perfectly.

“You’re my friends,” Lanlei muttered.

“Names are important,” Mal said. “We’ll call you whatever you want us to call you.” Lanlei smiled at her.

After breakfast all eight of them headed outside. Mal and Evie had convinced the Auradon kids to go exploring, which would have provided the perfect cover for scouting the path to the museum. They nearly made it too.

“There you are, children,” Fairy Godmother said just as Mal was about to step outside. Mal grimaced before they turned to face her.

“Did you need to speak with us, Fairy Godmother?” Evie asked.

Fairy Godmother smiled. “Yes, dear. You four have appointments with Fauna. Just some quick check-ups and you’re free until classes start tomorrow.”

Some quick whats? Una looked at Mal, Evie and Carlos and saw that they looked just as confused as she was.

“Uh, check-ups?” Carlos asked.

Fairy Godmother’s smile wavered. “Check-ups on your health. You’ve been to a doctor before, haven’t you?”

“Dr. Facilier is the principal at Dragon Hall,” Mal said with faux innocence. “His wife does abortions. Does that count?”

Fairy Godmother blanched. She muttered something before fleeing down the hall.

“Guess that’s a no,” Mal said.

“Yeah, no,” Jay said. Una looked at him and the other Auradon kids and saw that their complexions ranged from pale (Jay) to green-tinged (Aileen). They really didn’t like talking about abortions in Auradon, didn’t they? Every person on the Isle who was able to become pregnant knew to go to Céline Facilier for control over if they reproduced or not.

“Dr. Fauna’s office is just down the hall,” Aziz said. “You can’t miss it.”

To the Auradon kids’ visible relief, Mal headed down the hallway in the direction Aziz indicated with Evie, Carlos and Una following her.

“Are we actually going to Dr. Fauna’s office?” Carlos asked.

“Nope,” Mal said. “Scatter and—” She stopped walking and swore. They were five feet away from Dr. Fauna’s office, which was just as impossible to miss as Aziz said it was if only because of the tall, grey-haired woman in a green dress and white coat standing in front of it with her hands on her hips.

“Language!” the woman said. “You must be Mal, Maleficent’s daughter”

“You must be Fauna,” Mal said. “Of Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.”

The two faeries looked at each other. Evie gasped when Fauna’s eyes flashed green. Not acid green like Mal and Maleficent, more like the colour of the grass outside. Mal let out a faint growl.

“Check-ups,” Fauna ordered. “All of you.”

They didn’t have a choice, did they?

Fauna didn’t try to separate them. She did make a comment about how they could stay in the waiting room when it wasn’t their turn, but they all took that as optional. Instead, Fauna gave each of them headphones to play music so they couldn’t hear what she was saying, because apparently medical stuff was supposed to be private. Mal went first, and then Evie. Una watched as Fauna had them stand without shoes on a small platform that moved a beam with little tick marks on it and also had another strip of metal that she used to measure their heights. Then she pressed a circular piece of metal to their chests and backs, listening for something through the headphone-like thing the metal was attached to. Mal and Evie also had to touch their toes while Fauna looked at their backs and sit on the padded table while she tapped their knees with a tiny hammer and looked into their mouths with a little light. When all of that was done, Fauna sat down with them and talked. They couldn’t hear anything she said. Evie started crying at one point and they all jumped out of their seats before she could sign that she was okay.

Una went through the same process after Evie had dried her eyes. The metal circle was cold against her skin. Fauna explained that she was using it to listen to her heart and lungs. The little hammer was to test her reflexes, the platform was to measure her weight and touching her toes was so that Fauna could see if her spine was straight.

“Now,” Fauna said, “Mal has already told me what all of you are covering with those glamour charms—yes, I can sense the magic—but I need to know if you have any new injuries.”

Una thought about it for a minute before she removed her jacket. Mal hadn’t indicated that Fauna was a threat. She’d mostly seemed resigned, like of them were.

Fauna inhaled sharply as Una unwrapped the bandage around her arm. “Stop! Let me.” Una already had all of the stitches uncovered by that point. She froze with Evie’s scarf clutched in her fist. Fauna examined the healing cut. “Who did the stitches?”

After a moment of hesitation, Una pointed at Evie.

Fauna huffed. “Was the wound cleaned?”

Una nodded. Her hands fluttered up in a prematurely cut-off sign. Fauna wouldn’t understand what she was saying. Instead, she reached for the pen and paper that Fauna had given her when they entered her office and wrote, _alcohol and fire for the needle_

“And the thread?” Fauna asked.

_alcohol soak_

Fauna made a sound that was more like approval. It was like she didn’t expect them to be able to take care of their own injuries. Una had been bandaging the wounds Ursula gave her since she was seven; she knew how to prevent infection.

Fauna told her that she would be giving Una something called “antibiotics” to make sure that the cut didn’t get infected, but she’d leave Evie’s stitches in. “It would be more trouble than it’s worth to take them out and put new ones in at this stage.”

Una nodded. She was sure that Carlos would be able to explain antibiotics to her later.

Fauna’s expression turned stony. “Do you have any other major injuries that I should know about?”

Una tilted her head and lowered her eyebrows, trying to communicate confusion.

“Have you broken any bones or had any other cuts that needed stitches?” Fauna asked.

Una picked up her pen and started making a list. _broken right arm, left arm x2, 3 fingers right hand, 2 toes left foot, ribs x3 we think. stitches in left leg x2, right leg x2, left arm x4, back and right arm lost count_

Fauna’s lips disappeared into a tight line as she read. “Did your mother do any of this?”

Una nodded. Of course Ursula had injured her. It was nothing compared to what Cruella did to Carlos, but most of the broken bones were because of her and at least half of the cuts.

Fauna looked like Mal did when someone hurt Evie. Una didn’t know why the faery was so angry. It could have been worse. She could have been born a boy and been taken by her father or sacrificed for power by Ursula. Ursula didn’t see any other point in boy-children who would never be sirens (even though blood sacrifice would have been useless on the Isle with the barrier in the way). She could have been taken by her father, period. Ursula hadn’t had a deal with Gaston like she did with Dr. Facilier. Gil and Una could have ended up together (not being raised together, Gaston didn’t raise his kids, no villain really did) and Ursula couldn’t have done anything about it.

After taking a few deep breaths, Fauna asked, “When was your last period?”

Una held up three fingers and wrote, _months_

Fauna nodded and wrote something down. “Are you pregnant?”

Una stared at Fauna, shook her head, and then doubled over in reams of silent laughter.


	10. Ink: Villainess Lullaby

Hush evil baby, don’t you cry,

or Mommy will hit you and blacken your eye.

Don’t say a word and don’t you dare run,

or Mommy will catch you and cut out your tongue.

Be quiet, look pretty, be Mommy’s evil girl,

and baby and Mommy will take over the world.


	11. Evil Like Me

“I can’t believe she thought we’d just give up a weakness,” Mal grumbled. She glared at Una. “And I could have done without the lecture on safe sex.”

Una shrugged and dodged an empty soda can lying on the otherwise freakishly clean sidewalk. It wasn’t her fault that Fauna had decided they weren’t taking the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases seriously. The fairy had talked to all of them before getting out the pamphlets.

They’d been lucky that Fauna let them go with enough daylight left to scout their path to the museum. Once curfew had passed, they’d snuck out of the girls’ room via the window using the handholds Carlos had spotted. They’d only had to go down two floors so the climb wasn’t long. In fact, Una estimated that the distance wasn’t much further than they sometimes jumped down from buildings on the Isle. There had been broken bones involved in some of those jumps though, so Mal decided it was best not to risk it.

The museum was lit up inside. They stopped a few buildings down and Evie used her magic mirror to check for security. “There’s one security guard,” Evie said. “And a lot of cameras.”

“I’ve got something for that.” Mal took out her spell book and flipped through it. “Cloaked in night us four shall be, let us now pass unseen.” Soft purple light surrounded them for a moment before disappearing, leaving a heavy coat of magic behind.

“Did it work?” Carlos asked.

“Magic mirror in my hand, what do others see where we stand?” Evie turned the mirror to show them the empty sidewalk. “Looks like it worked.”

Mal sent the security guard to sleep with another spell using the spinning wheel that was just sitting right there in the museum’s entryway and they made it inside without any problems. Mal put one foot past the security desk and was off like a shot. Evie, Carlos and Una looked at each other and ran after her.

The hall where Mal stopped was lined on both sides with stone pedestals. Evie and Una both breathed in sharply. The _magic_ in this room.

“Triton’s trident, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather’s wands, the Enchantress’s rose,” Carlos named the items on the pedestals nearest to them.

Mal looked around with wide eyes. “There’s so much and they just leave it here? Magic like this is meant to be used.”

Una took a step towards the trident. The smell of water and salt washed over her. The power of the sea was close enough to touch. If she gave that to her mother it would prove that she was useful. If she used it, it could prove that she was really a Sea Witch.

Mal shook her head. A shiver passed through her body. “The wand isn’t here.” She looked over at Una. “We’ll come back for that. The wand is the priority.”

Una reluctantly drew back from the trident.

In the next hall, they came face to face with their parents. Carlos let out a yell that he smothered with both hands. The villain exhibit had extremely lifelike statues of Maleficent, Cruella, the Evil Queen, and Jafar right at the entrance. Una spotted the tip of a tentacle that had to belong to a statue of her mother or her aunt further back in the exhibit.

“Well, the wand definitely won’t be here,” Carlos said after they’d stared into the exhibit in silence for a moment.

“Let’s keep looking. We’re going to do this, guys,” Mal said. “We’re going to make our parents proud.”

When they finally found the wand hovering in a tube of light enclosed in a spiral staircase, it took a while before Evie, Una and Carlos realized that Mal wasn’t with them. Carlos darted back the way they came to find her while Evie and Una stared at Fairy Godmother’s wand.

“So that’s it,” Evie said softly. “Long live evil.”

_“Long live evil,”_ Una echoed.

Mal appeared next to Evie, panting slightly. “Okay, looks like there’s some sort of barrier around it. It probably gives some sort of electric shock, or maybe just straight up pain. That’s what I’d do.”

“There are all those signs telling people not to touch,” Carlos said. “It might just set off an alarm. This is Auradon.”

Mal shrugged and got out her spell book. “Let’s assume both.”

Mal flipped through the pages of her book, trying spell after spell while Evie, Carlos and Una kept watch. None of them worked. She swore under her breath.

“We’re going to have to get going soon if we want to get back before we’re missed,” Carlos warned.

Mal snapped her spell book shut. “Screw this. We’ll make a better plan and come back. Come on.”

Una rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. Great. Now they had to go to school.

* * *

As expected, their first day of school at Auradon Prep sucked.

Jay came to walk with them to breakfast again and he said outright that he couldn’t keep covering for Carlos. “I know it’s weird being in a new place, but it’s going to get all of us in trouble if anyone finds out Carlos keeps sleeping here.”

The four of them looked at each other. They knew they couldn’t draw attention and they couldn’t risk doing anything that could get them sent back to the Isle before they stole Fairy Godmother’s wand.

“I’ll be in our room tonight,” Carlos said.

Aileen didn’t join them at breakfast. Lanlei and Aziz were in the same seats they had been the day before, but they kept giving the Rottens odd and sometimes uncomfortable looks. Mal didn’t bring it up and the rest of them followed her example.

Una and Carlos had the same first class of the day. Their math teacher Mr. Jefferson gave them thick stacks of problems to work through and sat them on opposite sides of the classroom, telling them to complete all the problems they knew how to do so he would know what they knew. The first few pages were simple addition and subtraction, and then the problems just kept getting harder. There were some things that Una recognized from Greed and Finances (taught by Stromboli) and Conquering Through Numbers (taught by Shan Yu), but those were few and far between. She snuck a peak at Carlos and saw that he was breezing through the math problems like they were Weird Science homework. She finished everything she knew, took a stab at some of the others and handed in her work at the same time as Carlos.

By that time, Mr. Jefferson had assigned homework and dismissed the rest of the class early. He had them stay in the classroom while he marked their work, muttering to himself. “Well,” he said at last, “Una, you are just where you need to be. Carlos, you are in the entirely wrong class. How do you feel about collage calculus?”

“Um,” Carlos said.

“Excellent! I’ll talk to Professor Palladino about getting you enrolled. Now go! Class dismissed!” Mr. Jefferson ushered them out of the room and slammed the door behind them.

Carlos looked at Una. “What just happened?”

Una shrugged and shook her head.

Their next class was Safety Rules for the Internet, which they had at the same time as Mal and Evie. It was a lot like Weird Science except boring because they all already knew how to use a computer. Their teacher didn’t believe them. She hovered behind them for the entire class, watching their screens and telling them to do exactly what they were already going to do. Evie had to hold Mal back from throwing her mouse at their teacher in the one second her back was turned.

“I hate this,” Mal grumbled as they finally left the class. “I hate everything.” Evie patted her shoulder.

Una was tempted to suggest that they skip the rest of their classes, but that would definitely risk getting them sent back to the Isle. Instead, she stayed out of the way while Mal complained and Evie kept her from doing something stupid. People were still diving out of their path when they walked through the hallway as a group, so all Una and Carlos had to do was follow Mal and Evie until they reached their next class and then get their attention so the older girls wouldn’t panic when they noticed they were gone.

The English class that Una and Carlos had chosen was a world literature class that only had seven other students in it. Mrs. Stiers went around the room and had all of them introduce themselves. Aziz was the only person in the class Una and Carlos already knew. The others were Queen Elsa’s son, two of Doug’s cousins, Pinocchio’s child (“they/them pronouns”), the daughter of Princess Mei and an orange cat called Simone O’Malley who spoke through a magitech translator.

“I’m Carlos,” Carlos said when it was their turn for introductions. “Um, he/him pronouns. And this is Una, she/her pronouns.”

“Una can introduce herself, Carlos,” Mrs. Stiers said. “We don’t speak for others in Auradon.”

One of Doug’s cousins snickered.

Una pointed to herself and then spelled out her name. She kicked Carlos under the desk before he could translate. He raised an eyebrow but stayed silent.

The rest of the class stared at Una. Mrs. Stiers cleared her throat. “Use your words, dear.”

Una repeated her signs. Everyone continued to look confused, except for Aziz who just looked annoyed.

“She is using her words,” Aziz said. “Didn’t anyone else bother to learn sign language?”

“Oh,” Queen Elsa’s son said. “Sorry, we use a different sign language in Arendelle.”

“I am a cat,” Simone said. “I lack the opposable thumbs for human sign language.”

No one else in the room spoke up with an excuse.

Mrs. Stiers kept Una back after class. Carlos headed for the door but didn’t leave. The teacher didn’t notice.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to participate in this class,” Mrs. Stiers said slowly. “I’ll talk to Mr. Brown about moving you to his English class.”

Una stared at Mrs. Stiers for a second before going to the chalk board and writing _WHY?_

“This is a discussion class,” Mrs. Stiers said. “If you won’t talk—”

_CAN’T_ Una wrote.

Mrs. Stiers ignored her and kept speaking. “—then you can’t get full marks.”

_I CAN’T USE MY VOICE BUT I CAN WRITE AND CARLOS CAN TELL YOU WHAT I’M SAYING_. Una waited what she thought was long enough for Mrs. Stiers to read the entire sentence before adding, _I CAN DO WELL IN THIS CLASS._

Mrs. Stiers scoffed. “It would be unfair to the other students to make exceptions for you. You will do better in a lower level class.”

Una felt the current of magic that had been steady since their first night in Auradon well up inside her. The stick of chalk she was holding snapped in half in her hand. Mrs. Stiers squeaked and took a step back.

“Of course, it can’t hurt to do a test run,” Mrs. Stiers stuttered. “Let’s revisit this after a week, shall we?” She didn’t wait for Una to reply before she turned and ran out of the room.

Una put the chalk down and started erasing the board. Carlos went to help her. They had the chalkboard clean in a few seconds.

“You know your eyes were glowing, right?” Carlos asked in a low voice as they brushed away the last of the chalk.

Una blinked at him and shook her head. No, she didn’t know that her eyes had been glowing. Wasn’t that just a faery thing?

“Magic?” Carlos asked.

Una nodded.

Carlos sighed. “We’re going to be having lunch in your room, aren’t we?”

After they told Mal about this? Definitely.


	12. Ink: Beastly

Once upon a time, there was a princess.

(A princess is still a princess even if she was born in a prison.)

This princess was beloved by all her subjects

(she had none)

and feared by her enemies

(she had many)

for she was a warrior who fiercely protected what belonged to her.

(Don’t cross her or you’re dead.)

One day, the princess left her kingdom to journey to another land

(she had no choice)

where she hoped to win the hand of a prince.

(What’s a girl to do in this world but fight for power?)

But the prince was actually a beast

(she knew his kind)

so she cut off his head and mounted it on a pike in front of the castle.

(The king is dead, long live the queen.)


	13. Make Mischief

Remedial Goodness was the worst class ever.

After the magic tests Mal had put her through that made her feel like she’d run across their territory on the Isle a few dozen times in a row, all Una really wanted to do was put her head on her desk and sleep. However, since there were only four of them in the class there wasn’t any way she could have hidden her nap from Fairy Godmother, who was their teacher. So Una stared at the frankly insulting questions written on the chalkboard while Fairy Godmother talked and tried to pretend that she was paying attention.

“Una?” Fairy Godmother asked. “Do you have an answer?”

Una blinked. What was the question? She circled her hands around each other and wrinkled her eyebrows.

“Could you repeat the question?” Carlos translated.

Fairy Godmother sighed but she read out the question they were currently on. “You meet a child selling cookies to raise money for charity. Do you A) Steal the money they’ve already made, B) Poison the cookies they’re selling, C) Help them to sell more cookies, or D) Curse them?”

Obviously the correct answer was E) Steal the money and the cookies, but that wasn’t an option. What was it that Mal had said? “Choose the one that sounds like the least fun.”

“C,” Una signed. The sign was curving her hand into the shape of the letter, so Fairy Godmother was able to understand her without someone else in their gang translating.

“Very good, Una,” Fairy Godmother said. “But let’s try to pay closer attention in the future.”

Una nodded without any intention of actually listening to the Good Fairy. All she wanted to do was sleep, but Carlos kept poking her awake.

“Two more classes,” Carlos muttered as they left the room in the library where Remedial Goodness was held. “Two more hours and then you can sleep.”

It was unfortunate that they had gym class next.

Coach (“Just Coach.”) took attendance and then started teaching them the rules to Swords and Shields. Aziz, being the team captain, helped him. It seemed like review for everyone in the class except Una and Carlos, which was probably why it was their first lesson.

“Okay, we’ve got enough time left for some five minute bouts,” Coach said. “Aziz and...Una, you’re up first.”

Una sleep walked through putting on the padded vest and mask that they apparently had to wear for safety reasons, whatever those were. If you couldn’t stop your opponent from putting your eye out then you shouldn’t be fighting them with a sword. Going into a battle where you couldn’t protect yourself was stupid.

As soon as she picked up her sword, Una snapped to alertness. The Rottens mostly used knives, but they all knew their way around a swordfight. Mal and Uma did keep butting heads after all, and the Huns often got too greedy for territory and had to be taught a lesson. Una was their best swordsperson after Mal.

Carlos said a very quiet “Oh no.”

The inside of the mask smelled like Lady Tremaine’s Curl Up and Dye, sharp and chemical. The metal grid covering her face was making it hard for Una to see. She had to end this quickly.

Her first strike was blocked by her opponent’s blade. Una gritted her teeth and pressed forward. She couldn’t fall back into the Curl Up and Dye. That would be giving up ground and Mal hated it when they gave ground. She slashed across the boy’s body with her sword and reached for her vest’s pocket to take out a knife only to come up against unyielding fabric. That wasn’t right. That pocket must have hooked itself closed somehow and she didn’t have time to untangle it. She stabbed at the boy with the point of her sword, hitting him solidly in the gut. Anyone else would have ended up with her sword coming out of their back, but the boy just doubled over, unharmed. What was he wearing, armour? Even more reason to kill him. They had agreements about who got first pick from the barges and this nobody shouldn’t have gotten his hands on anything resembling armour.

Una hit the boy in the face with the hilt of her sword. His head snapped backwards and he stumbled sideways. Una grabbed his sword arm. His sword clanged to the ground. Before Una could draw her blade across the boy’s throat, another sword crossed with her’s and stopped her.

“Don’t kill him,” Carlos said. “Mal wants him alive.”

Una lowered her sword. She didn’t let go of their captive.

“Hold still for sec.” Carlos reached out and lifted the mask off of Una’s face.

Una blinked. She wasn’t outside the Curl Up and Dye. She was in a room with blue walls and a blue floor. She was in gym class. She was in Auradon.

“You good?” Carlos asked. Una nodded, but then felt the blood drain from her face. She’d attacked a prince. That was bad. That was so, so bad. There was no way she wouldn’t get sent back to the Isle. She dropped Aziz’s arm and took several steps back.

Aziz took off his mask. He had a dazed look in his eyes but he was grinning broadly. “That was awesome! Please tell me you’re trying out for the team.”

Una blinked. She looked at Carlos, who seemed as shocked as she was.

“Aziz, your nose is bleeding!” another girl in their class shrieked. As if that was some sort of signal, the rest of the class started yelling and talking over each other until Coach blew his whistle.

“That’s enough,” Coach said. “James, help Aziz get to Fauna’s office. Everyone who doesn’t have a gym uniform, there are order forms outside the door. Class dismissed.”

The Auradon kids grumbled and glared and Carlos and Una, but they left the gym without attacking.

Carlos had to help Una get the padded vest off because it zipped up the back and not because her hands were shaking. Because her hands weren’t shaking. There was no reason for her hands to be shaking. She’d survived fifteen years on the Isle. She could make a living from doing tattoos until Mal, Evie and Carlos got all of them out. But their parents would want to punish her for her failure. She would need allies. Uma, Harry and Gil would have her back, but Mal would end her if it even looked like she’d joined up with Uma’s Undertakers. Dizzy would join her if she asked. CJ Hook was always a wild card but maybe if she caught her at the right time she’d agree to lend Una her sword on occasion. Shan Yan had made it clear that she’d ditch her father and brother in a second if Mal would have her and that would probably carry over to Una. If she ended up completely out of viable options, there was Anthony Tremaine. She could work out a deal with him for protection and a safe place to stay without adding a brothel marking to her tattoo collection.

“Don’t worry so much,” Carlos muttered.

Who was worrying? Una wasn’t worried.

Coach sighed and muttered something in what sounded like Arabic. Una and Carlos flinched. Jafar was not nice and hearing Arabic was usually a warning to run like hell.

“You’re not in trouble,” Coach said. “I’m guessing you’ve fought with a sword before?”

Una nodded. “Lots,” Carlos said.

Coach sighed again. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds. “I’ll write you notes for your next class. My door’s always open for you, aright? Let Mal and Evie know.”

Carlos and Una looked at each other. “Okay?” Carlos said.

They weren’t any less confused by the time they got to History with Pirates and had to show Coach’s notes to Professor Darling when he asked why they were late. He grumbled a bit but sent them to their seats without making a big deal about it.

“As I was saying,” Professor Darling said. “I will be making a distinction between pirates, privateers and villains. There is, of course, some overlap in pirates who became privateers and vice versa. If you’ll pay attention, Mr. Potts, I’ll begin handing out our textbook for the semester. Write your name and the year in the front cover and your name and textbook number on the list I’ll circulate around the room. Don’t get mixed up! Year in book, book number on paper.”

When Una got her textbook (which wasn’t dirty or wrinkled or missing huge chunks of the pages like the few textbooks they had at Dragon Hall) she opened it and saw the blueprint of a pirate ship that decorated the inside cover. Her lips curved into a small smile. Harry would have loved this class.

* * *

“Why do we have to do this every day?” Mal groaned. She was lying face down on her bed with her spell book open next to her. “School is such a waste of time.”

“I think it could be fun,” Evie said. “You can’t spend all your time plotting. You’ll exhaust your ideas.”

Evie added a pin to the fabric on Una shoulder. She’d let Una have a five minute nap before rousing her to act as a mannequin. Una was standing in her underwear, yawning every few minutes and keeping herself on her feet through willpower and a hand on the back of Carlos’s chair, while Evie draped and pinned a partially burned bed sheet into a dress bodice. The fabric was bright red, which meant that the dress was either for Evie or for Una.

“There’s an art club on Fridays you might like,” Evie said. “Jay was telling me about it. Materials are provided.”

Carlos looked at Evie over his shoulder. “When were you talking to Jay?”

“In chemistry class,” Evie said. “He’s third in line for the throne, you know.”

That explained a lot.

Evie added another pin before moving to work on the other sleeve. Una yawned.

Mal sat up and grabbed her spellbook. “We don’t have time for fun. Our parents aren’t patient.”

Una winched. Luckily, Evie accidentally stabbed her with a pin at the same time so she had an excuse that wasn’t being absolutely terrified at the thought of what Ursula might do to her if the Sea Witch thought that she had been kept waiting for too long.

“It’ll be fine,” Evie said. “We can do this.”

“We have to do this,” Carlos said. “I found this magical history blog. It says that the wand is only removed from the museum for ceremonial events and sometimes when Fairy Godmother makes a request to use it. That doesn’t happen very often.”

Una tapped on Carlos’s shoulder. _“E-v-e-n-t-s,”_ she asked.

“Stuff like royal weddings and coronations,” Carlos said.

A sly look appeared on Mal’s face. “And that means that the wand will be out and about during Ben’s coronation, right Carlos?”

Carlos nodded. “Four weeks from now. It would be a lot easier to grab when there’s less security.”

“We know how to disappear into crowds,” Evie said.

“Where’s the coronation happening?” Mal asked.

Carlos checked his computer for a few minutes before answering. “Château du Roi, that big castle near the ocean that we passed on the way here.”

Mal nodded. “Find me everything you can on the coronation. What’s happening, who’s going, what the area is like, everything.”

“On it.” Carlos turned back to the computer and started typing furiously.

Mal looked at Evie. “We’ll need clothes that’ll help us blend in.”

“I already have some ideas,” Evie said with a smile.

“Una, practice with that fog you made at lunch. We can use that as cover,” Mal said.

Una nodded. The fog was one of her few successes with her magic (Mal had the questionable advantage of being raised by a faery who actually wanted to teach her about magic some days). She’d managed to fill their room with thick, white fog that made it almost impossible for them to see each other. She would probably have to test how it worked outside.

Mal sighed. “We can do this.”


	14. Ink: Heart to Heart

No one has really seen the tattoo that Harry Hook has on his chest over his

heart.

There’s a faded

heart

that didn’t get inked properly and a name. The name is in fancy writing that runs all the letters together, the kind that the Evil Queen and her daughter use. All anyone can read is U-a with a missing letter at the

heart

of it that everyone assumes is an m to make it Uma. The other pirates laugh and Uma rolls her eyes when he tells her that he was drunk and asked her sister for it. She confiscates his hook for the day and makes him run errands without it and by the end of the day most of the island knows that Harry Hook got Uma’s name tattooed over his

heart.

He doesn’t tell anyone that the m is an n and he got blackout drunk when his dad kicked him out of the house at sword point and woke up on a rooftop with Una next to him and the tattoo half done. She hadn’t finished the

heart

but made her name as dark as she could, going over it over and over again with her needle until they were both late to be late for school, so they skipped and she wrote an essay on his arm about how she hoped that would teach him something about drinking and not to come to her again when he did because he would get a lot worse than her name permanently on his chest. He had to pay her too, which he did with a rusty coin and an old jacket that he had outgrown and had been planning

to let her steal anyway.


	15. Good at Being Bad

Slowly, the Rottens’ plan for a coronation day smash-and-grab came together. Carlos found maps of the castle and the surrounding area as well as seating charts for similar events that he used to sketch out possible entry and exit routes. Searching through newspapers, videos and blog posts let them know that the wand would only be out for about five minutes during the coronation ceremony. The rest of the time it would be locked in a carrying case that only Fairy Godmother could open.

“For one of us to grab it in that time we’d have to be on floor level, not balcony level,” Carlos said. “Those seats are for visiting royals and Ben’s family. Are any of you legally princesses?”

Una shook her head. Ursula had been overthrown during her short time as Queen of the Seas, so Una had no claim to the title. Though, Triton was still acting as king even though by right of conquest Eric should have been king (Ursula complained about it more than enough for Una to be sure that was the case), so there was precedent for her to argue that she was a princess.

“My mom abdicated,” Mal said. “Evil Queen was never stripped of her title, right E?”

Evie nodded without looking up from her sketchbook. Then the tip of her pencil stilled and she bit her bottom lip in her version of a frown. “Do you think we can use that?”

“They care a lot about royal titles here,” Mal said. “If it gets to the right people I bet they’ll start calling you Snow White’s sister as an excuse to use your title.”

Evie’s eyes lit up. She looked pleased at the thought.

“I could probably make that happen.” Carlos frowned. “But, just in case, any other ideas?”

Una thought for a moment. _“J-a-y.”_

“Third in line for the throne, isn’t he?” Mal smirked. “And he’s the crown prince of Agrabah, which puts him in the visiting royals category. If he brings a date to the coronation they’d definitely be sitting together, wouldn’t they?”

Carlos checked their notes. “It would be an insult to seat a royal’s date somewhere that wasn’t directly next to them.”

“Is Jay into boys or girls?” Mal asked.

None of them knew the answer to that, but Carlos said he would find out.

“What about Ben?” Evie asked. “If one of us were his date we’d be right in front of Fairy Godmother when she got the wand out.”

That was a good idea. The only problem was that Ben already had a girlfriend.

Well, if Audrey wasn’t willing to fight to keep Ben, then she didn’t deserve the power that came from dating him.

“Mal should date Ben,” Carlos said. He didn’t flinch when the half faery in question crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “He keeps looking for excuses to talk to you.”

“Carlos is right. Ben’s half in love with you already,” Evie said.

Mal tried to protest and quickly ran out of arguments. Sure, Evie was better at flirting but Ben was definitely interested in Mal. They all saw the lingering looks he gave her.

“Okay, I’ll be Bennyboo’s new girlfriend,” Mal said. “I think I’ve got a love spell.”

“You don’t need one,” Evie said. She smiled brightly when Mal narrowed her eyes.

“Two weeks,” Mal said. “If Ben hasn’t made it clear that I’m going to be his date in two weeks then I’m using a love spell.”

The rest of them didn’t argue. They’d teased Mal enough for one day.

* * *

Remedial Goodness remained stupid. Fairy Godmother was going over the basics of saying please and thank you when there was a knock on the door and Fauna came into the room. The noise from the students in the library was cut off when she closed the door behind her.

“Is this a good time, Fairy Godmother?” Fauna asked.

Fairy Godmother checked her notes. “I believe we’ve reached a good stopping point. They’re all yours, Fauna.”

The Rottens exchanged looks as Fauna replaced Fairy Godmother at the front of the room. They hadn’t seen Fauna since the unnecessary safe sex talk. They hadn’t even been avoiding her office. Much.

“What’s this about?” Mal asked.

“I believe all of you could benefit from therapy,” Fauna said. “I’m going to explain to you what that would entail so you can decide if you’d like to take part.”

Fauna explained and Una’s first reaction was hell no. Therapy was all about giving up weaknesses. Hell no. Then she went over Fauna’s explanation again. They would have to give up weaknesses but then they’d learn how to fix them and they wouldn’t be weaknesses anymore. Auradon people were soft enough to let them do that.

Una got Mal’s attention and signed her analysis. Mal nodded.

“We can try therapy,” Mal said. The rest of them nodded, though Carlos was hesitant.

Fauna smiled at them, a gentle smile that wasn’t all teeth and instability or mocking and cruel. “I’ll let Dr. Cricket know to expect you. His office is open from eight to six, but he’s offered to reserve an hour especially for you kids every day. You don’t have to go then, but what time do you think would be best?”

“Maybe after school?” Carlos suggested. “It’s not like we’re doing...much.”

They did have pretty much their whole plan worked out.

“Three to four then?” Fauna asked.

Mal shrugged. “That works.”

Fairy Godmother let them leave class early after that. Carlos and Una claimed an empty table at the back of the library and got started on their math homework. Well, Carlos did his homework. Una spent too much time staring as he breezed through problems so complicated that they were mostly letters and so only managed to finish the first question in her homework before they had to go to gym class.

The gym uniforms that they’d had to order were flimsy t-shirts and mesh shorts in Auradon Prep colours. They definitely wouldn’t stop a knife. Una felt practically naked without her vest, thought that might have had more to do with the patches in her bra showing though the yellow shirt than the small protection leather provided. The princesses in the class kept looking at her and snickering behind their hands. Could the Auradon kids figure out if they were scared of them or if they were safe to make fun of? The flip-flopping between cowering and mocking was enough to give Una a headache.

Coach divided them into teams of six for a sport he called “volleyball” that seemed familiar when he explained it. It was halfway through watching the first two teams hit a ball over a net that Carlos realized why.

“We played this when we were kids,” Carlos said. “It was Harriet’s idea, remember?” 

Most things they did when they were kids (not gangs, before the party that got Evil Queen and Evie banished) were Harriet’s idea. If they weren’t then they were Mal’s or Uma’s, and boy was that funny in hindsight, but this game was definitely one of Harriet’s. There’d been very few death threats involved and they’d played on the beach where the sand was too unstable for anyone to set up a permanent living situation.

Una nodded. _“More people.”_ Their games had involved temporary gangs of whoever wanted to play divided between Harriet and Hayden, Hades and Persephone’s eldest son on the Isle. Groups of upwards of ten on each side weren’t uncommon.

Carlos watched one of the boys dive to hit the ball. “Yeah. Looks like there’s less tackling here too.”

“You guys played volleyball with tackling?” Aziz asked. “Isn’t that kind of unnecessarily dangerous?”

Carlos shrugged. Everything on the Isle was dangerous.

They made it to the end of the class without anyone getting injured, which was nice. Any time someone got hurt the Auradon kids glared at Carlos and Una. It was annoying.

“Are you sure you’re not going to try out for Swords and Shields?” Aziz asked Una as they were leaving the gym.

Una nodded. She didn’t have time for joining a sports team. They had a wand to steal.

Aziz sighed. “If you’re sure—Hey, Nora, we have to work on our project!—I’ll see you later.” He ran after a girl who was disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall, waving to Carlos and Una over his shoulder.

* * *

When Ben knocked on the door of Mal, Evie and Una’s room after school, the girls were working on figuring out the timing they’d need to steal Triton’s trident after they’d gotten Fairy Godmother’s wand. The calculations they shoved under their mattresses before Mal answered the door weren’t looking promising.

“Uh, hi,” Ben said. He hovered in the doorway but didn’t step foot inside their room. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“So ask,” Mal said. She leaned against the door and crossed her arms.

“Parents’ Weekend is coming up,” Ben said, as if they were supposed to know what that was. “Do you want me to arrange a video call with your parents?”

“Like seeing our parents?” Mal asked.

Ben nodded. Una wasn’t sure if Mal or Evie started laughing first, but Evie quickly covered her mouth with her hands and left only Mal’s laughter audible.

“No,” Mal said once she’d stopped laughing.

Ben frowned. “No?”

Mal shook her head. “Definitely not.”

“That’s what Carlos said too.” Ben took his eyes off of Mal for the first time since she opened the door and looked at Evie and Una. “Do you two agree?”

Una nodded.

“Absolutely,” Evie said.

Ben raked his fingers through his hair, making half of the front stand on end while the other strands fell into a haphazard tangle that only barely resembled the hairstyle he’d started out with. “Is there anyone you want to see?”

_“U-m-a,”_ Una signed.

“Uma?” Ben asked.

_“S-i-s-t-e-r,”_ Una signed.

Ben’s eyes widened. “You have a sister?”

Actually, she had two sisters and a brother but no one outside of them and their parents knew that.

“Diego de Vil, Carlos’s cousin.” Evie looked at Mal for a second. “And Hades’ sons, Hayden and Hadie.”

“Dizzy Tremaine,” Mal said.

Ben didn’t question their choices. He nodded and asked for them to write them down.

Mal handed over the list with an added explanation. “The _Lost Revenge_ is Uma’s ship. If anything needs to be dropped off, that’s the best place.” Then she fixed Ben’s hair before closing the door in his face.

The three of them were silent. The sound of Ben walking away from their door came after a long minute.

“That was good,” Evie said.

Mal shrugged. “His hair was annoying me.”

Una retrieved their calculations and stared at the scribbled travel times. The numbers did backflips across the page. How long had they been working on this without finding a solution? It was pathetic. They should be better than this. They had food and a fairly safe place to sleep. Evil should be easy.

Useless. She was useless.

There was a crunching sound and Una realized that she’d made a fist around the paper she was holding. She tried to smooth out the wrinkles but only succeeded in smudging the pencil lines.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Evie suggested.

A break was probably a good idea.

Evie passed around some of the bread rolls they’d stolen from the cafeteria. The rolls were a few days old but they weren’t mouldy yet. Una had to wonder how old that made the bread they usually got on the Isle.

The lock on their door clicked open from the outside. Mal shoved the calculation pages she was flipping through under her pillow. Carlos was the only one who would come into their room without knocking but there was the possibility of someone else being with him. Jay didn’t seem too find it weird when Carlos picked the lock. He’d tagged along to say hi a couple times before.

Carlos entered their room alone and closed the door behind him. He had a wide-eyed look that made Una jump to her feet.

“Jay told me he’s pansexual,” Carlos said. “What does that mean?”


	16. Ink: How to Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter includes multiple causes of death and dialogue from a nonspecific suicide attempt.

Mal and Uma and Harriet walk the Isle like fire

Clear the way or face their wrath, if that’s what you desire

You’re not the first to think that fire burns clean

It’s not the worst way to go, suicide by queen

“Are you sure you want to die?”

Lady and Doctor Facilier sell potions of all kinds

It all depends on the barges, and their daughters’ finds

But there’s always at least one ready made to kill

Pennyroyal oil or black hellebore surely fit the bill

“I don’t want to live.”

The glint of steel in dark of night

A long fall down, the ground in sight

Teeth of sharks and crocodiles

Drowning in their deadly smiles

“If you die, she wins.”

A kinder person would ask why

The Isle has many ways to die

“...I’ll remember this, Mal.”


End file.
